Published 12/12/2021 • Updated 6/15/2022
Good Morning!
It’s time to make these amazing maple cinnamon rolls. You’re going to absolutely love these chewy and fluffy and (of course) oh so maple-y cinnamon rolls. Plus, we’ll show you how to prepare the rolls the night before so all you need to do is bake them in the morning. Oh, and don’t you even dare think about skipping our perfectly sweet maple cream cheese frosting. Seriously.
Maple Cinnamon Rolls – What You Need
The ingredients for these maple cinnamon rolls can be broken down to 3 elements: the dough, the filling and the maple cream cheese frosting. Here’s what you’ll need: Prepare the night before: you can prepare your rolls the night before and store in the fridge overnight. Simply bake in the morning, and ENJOY. Amazing flavor: we love a good cinnamon roll as much as the next person, but can’t get enough of the maple-y twist to a classic cinnamon roll. You’ll find amazing maple flavor in every bite — because there is maple in the dough, filling AND frosting 🙂
For the Dough
Milk (we prefer 2%!) Maple sugar Quick rise yeast All purpose flour Butter Egg Vanilla extract Salt
For the Filling
Maple sugar Brown sugar Maple syrup Butter Cinnamon Nutmeg
For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese Butter Powdered sugar Maple syrup Vanilla extract Salt
Let’s Talk Maple Sugar
Because much of the maple flavor bakes off when using maple sugar, we’ve incorporated maple sugar into these cinnamon rolls. Never heard of maple sugar? It’s the granulated version of maple syrup, and it has AMAZING FLAVOR.
How to Make Maple Cinnamon Rolls
For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.
Start with the Dough
Prepare the yeast by adding the warm milk, maple sugar and quick rise yeast packet to a bowl for at least 5 minutes or until the yeast has bloomed. then, whisk together the rest of the wet ingredients and combine with the bloomed yeast mixture. Then, with your stand mixer on low-medium speed with a dough hook, and slowly add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients until it forms a shaggy dough. And then continue until the dough is smooth and elastic (it should bounce back when you poke it). Don’t have a stand mixer? You can use a wooden spoon until the dough is formed enough to knead by hand. Then hand knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.
Let the Dough Rise
Transfer you ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel. Place in a warm place (we like to set ours IN the oven with the oven OFF) until the dough has doubled in size. This will take approximately 1-1.5 hours.
Make the Filling
While your dough rises, it’s time to make the filling. Simply measure the following in a small bowl and stir together until fully combined:
Softened butter (softened / room temperature butter is CRITICAL to ensure you don’t have clumps of butter in your filling) Maple sugar Brown sugar Maple syrup Cinnamon Nutmeg
Roll the Dough
Now that your dough has risen, it’s time to turn it out. Using a rolling pin, roll your dough into a rectangle that’s approximately 18” long, 12” wide, and 1/4” thick. Then, spread the filling over the dough, and roll it into a tight log. Next, slice the log into 1” rolls. To do this, start in middle of the roll, and mark the dough with a knife, then mark every inch on each side of the middle mark. This will ensure you have equal sized rolls 😀
2nd Rise
Add the maple cinnamon rolls to your prepared dish, cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel again, and place in a warm location to rise for a 2nd time, this time for around 30 minutes. Making these rolls for tomorrow? Instead of placing in a warm location, cover and place in the fridge overnight for baking in the morning. Just make sure you allow your rolls to come to room temperature before baking in the morning.
Make the Frosting
Combine the butter and softened cream cheese in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Once combined, slowly add the powdered sugar and salt. Then, finish with adding the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Beat the frosting on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy.
Time to Bake
Once your rolls have risen for a 2nd time, it’s time to bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Your house is about to smell AMAZING.
Frost & Enjoy
Wait at least 10 minutes after your rolls have come out of the oven before spreading on the maple cream cheese frosting. Then, SERVE AND ENJOY!
Pro Tips for Maple Cinnamon Rolls
We have a few pro tips to share when it comes to making these maple cinnamon rolls. Follow these tips to cinnamon roll perfection:
Don’t Overheat the milk
Because the yeast is getting started in the warm milk, you don’t want it to be TOO WARM. Yeast will bloom perfectly when the milk is around 110°F. If the milk is too warm, it can kill the yeast. Conversely, if the milk is too cold, the yeast will have a tough time blooming, which can result in dense rolls — no one wants that!
Quick Rise Yeast vs Active Dry Yeast
We love using quick rise yeast for these rolls! Technically, quick rise yeast doesn’t require you to let it bloom before mixing into the dough, but we like to get it started in warm milk to allow for perfect rising. Does active dry yeast work, too? Yes! Follow the same instructions, but be mindful that your rise times may increase slightly.
EXPECT A LITTLE FIlling OOZING
Expect a small amount of maple filling to ooze out from your dough when rolling and cutting your cinnamon rolls. Simply take this filling and either spread it on top of the cinnamon rolls once they’re cut, or lick that deliciousness off your finger and enjoy 😀
TO CUT EQUAL-SIZE CINNAMON ROLLS
For equal-sized cinnamon rolls, you’ll need to evenly divide the roll of dough into 1 inch cinnamon rolls. Start in middle of the roll, and mark the dough with a knife, then mark every inch on each side of the middle mark.
USE A SHARP serrated KNIFE TO CUT ROLLS
Use a SHARP serrated knife and gently slice your maple cinnamon rolls using a gentle back and forth motion, making sure to not squish the rolls. This will help keep the form, but don’t you worry if the rolls squish a bit — you can reform the rolls easily with your hands.
Overnight Maple Cinnamon Rolls Instructions
To prepare these cinnamon rolls the night before so all you need to do the morning you serve them is bake, follow these simple instructions:
Storage Instructions
Store these maple cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat: while reheating in the microwave absolutely works, our preferred method is in the oven. Reheat rolls covered at 350°F for 10 minutes or until the rolls are warm and just as delicious as the first time you took them out of the oven.
Sweet Breakfast Recipes
Cinnamon French Toast Bake Peanut Butter Banana French Toast Bake Instant Pot French Toast Casserole
